21 replies to this topic

[tiger99]

No, on no account go on the road without brake pads. It is to check that the FRONT brakes, which as you have been already told do most of the work, are working. If the pistons don't move, the front brakes do not work.

You are also misunderstanding the action of the rear shoes. The bottom ends of the pair of shoes pivot against the adjuster, while the top ends are moved apart by the wheel cylinder or the handbrake mechanism. There must therefore be much more movement, a few mm, at the top than at the bottom.

[gazza82]

How much ideally should the shoes be actuated (in distance) when the handbrake is enabled? I find that there's uneven actuation of the shoes. The bottom part of the shoe which is attached to the handbrake actuator moves much more freely than the top part. The top seems to only move a few millimetres.

 

I've drenched the stuff in penetrating fluid and wiped off as much shmoo as I can. Seems cleaner but it still isn't biting as well as I'd like.

 

That is how they work. The shoes pivot on the adjuster at the top. But the shoes need to be the correct way up too!

Edited by gazza82, 20 September 2016 - 08:42 AM.

[AeroNotix]

Interesting. I'll try to perhaps get a video but on the rear drums when actuating the handbrake since the bottom part moves much more than the top part.

Edited by AeroNotix, 20 September 2016 - 10:53 AM.

[gazza82]

... since the bottom part moves much more than the top part.

 

I will .. the handbrake lever doesn't rest on the middle of the shoe. It's below the hub so the leverage will splay the bottom half and the top edge pivot on the adjuster seats ..

 

http://www.7ent.com/...rakes-rear.html

 

 

So the shoes will grip from the bottom edge of the liner first on both. Same movement but actually more pronounced using the foot brake. The linings have to be in a certain orientation to work see pic below.

 

 

(by the way, the cylinder seals are ******* on this one!)

Edited by gazza82, 20 September 2016 - 12:45 PM.

[mini13]

this does sound like a servo issue to me, I would look there, but only after checking for seized calipers.

 

has the car been standing without use?

 

also another possible culprit is colapsed hoses to the calipers.

[Ethel]

Think it's been touched on above. If the car's stood, especially if the calipers are knocking on a bit and loosing the plating on the pistons, they often seize meaning you're pushing on the piston but it isn't pushing the pad against the disc - hard pedal, no braking. It's a worthwhile service job anyway to deglaze (sand paper) the pads & discs, chip the rust off the edge of the disc, and pump/ push back the piston a few times to free them up and lube the seals (moving the piston wets then with brake fluid).

[tiger99]

Oops! In my earlier description I was thinking of another car with the slave cylinder at the top and the adjuster at the bottom, so please transpose top and bottom when reading it.